Clinton Promises a Cleanup of Government

By PATRICK HEALY and JON HURDLE

Published: April 21, 2007

Seeking black and female votes yesterday, first at Rutgers University and then before the Rev. Al Sharpton's political organization, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton used housecleaning imagery to swipe at President Bush and praised the Rutgers women's basketball team as teaching her and others a lesson.

Mrs. Clinton, Democrat of New York, criticized President Bush at several points, particularly over Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and Iraq, which she called ''this war that he deliberately started.'' But for the most part she used personal examples and metaphors to advocate for blacks, women, gay men and women, the poor, the old and the young.

Before Mr. Sharpton's group, the National Action Network, Mrs. Clinton promised to champion government reform and drew applause by talking about women's cleaning up messes made by others.

''When I walk into the Oval Office in 2009, I'm afraid I'm going to lift up the rug and I'm going to see so much stuff under there,'' she told a few hundred black political figures and others at a Manhattan hotel.

''You know, what is it about us always having to clean up after people?'' she added. ''But this is not just going to be picking up socks off the floor. This is going to be cleaning up the government.''

Mrs. Clinton spoke a day before a rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, is scheduled to address the group. Several other candidates have also appeared at the group's convention this week, including John Edwards of North Carolina and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico.

Mrs. Clinton met earlier yesterday with C. Vivian Stringer, coach of the Rutgers women's basketball team, which was the target of an on-air racial and sexual slur by the radio host Don Imus, who has since been fired for the remark.

In her comments at Rutgers, in New Brunswick, N.J., Mrs. Clinton said the basketball team might have created an opportunity to break down barriers to equality.

''This could be one of those defining moments for your generation,'' she told the audience.

Mrs. Clinton told Mr. Sharpton's group that the coach and the players ''taught us all a lesson'' about responding to attacks.

''It took these extraordinary young women to say enough is enough,'' she said, ''and we need to stand with them and be clear that as women we will not put up with the degradation and demeaning treatment that is too often put upon young women.''

Photo: Hillary Rodham Clinton before the National Action Network yesterday, with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, far left, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. (Photo by Dima Gavrysh for The New York Times)